Characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen 5 epitopes by using a panel of 19 monoclonal antibodies.

Antigen 5 is a 35,000-dalton protein which has been purified from culture filtrates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and shown by immunoprecipitation to be restricted in distribution to M. tuberculosis and M. bovis among 14 mycobacterial species studied. We raised 19 antigen 5-reactive monoclonal antibodies and used them to characterize epitopes of this antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoabsorbent affinity chromatography. Fifteen monoclonal antibodies, all immunoglobulin M (IgM), cross-reacted in two major patterns with culture filtrates from five species of mycobacteria and with purified mycobacterial arabinomannan and arabinogalactan. All 15 monoclonal antibodies also reacted with M. tuberculosis antigen 6. Immunoabsorbent affinity columns prepared with these antibodies yielded principally arabinomannan and arabinogalactan. Four monoclonal antibodies, three IgG2a and one IgM, reacted by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with antigens 5 and 6 exclusively and not with mycobacterial culture filtrates or polysaccharides. All four monoclonal antibodies yielded antigen 5 and small amounts of antigen 6 when used for immunoabsorbent affinity chromatography. We conclude from these studies that antigen 5 has two nonspecific epitopes, possibly carbohydrate in nature, and one apparent species-specific epitope which is shared with antigen 6.